Impeccably Crafted with Superb Tone

Think you'll never own a finely-tuned shred machine? Think again. The ESP LTD EC1000 Deluxe is a lean, mean, speed machine, with the tone and feel of a custom-shop thrasher, but at a price that will have you rubbing your eyes in disbelief.

For the simple strumming and quaint melodic lines of old-time rock'n'roll, the basic guitar designs of yesteryear are good enough -- but if you want to shred with speed and accuracy, you'd better make sure your axe is up to the challenge. You'd better be sure it won't go out of tune easily, has screaming tone, and plays faster than a speed demon on ice skates. The ESP LTD EC1000 Deluxe meets all those criteria -- and looks darn good doing it.

Impeccable Action

The first thing you'll notice when you pick up your new EC1000 is the impeccable action. Your strings can only go as low as your highest fret, so ESP takes great care in seating the frets, making sure there are no speed bumps on the riffage expressway. The neck profile is awesome too; not so chunky that it'll slow you down, but still substantial enough that switching between single-note arpeggios and meaty power chords feels natural and comfortable.

Serious Sustain

The set neck joint is solid, but won't get in the way of upper register soloing, even when you're wailing on the 24th fret. A Tonepros locking bridge with stop tailpiece has individually tunable saddles, as well as an adjustable overall height, so you'll be able to dial in the exact action that suits your playing style. The stable neck joint, Tonepros bridge, and mahogany body construction all contribute to this guitar's awesome sustain and sound, which is given electrified voice by a set of active EMG 81 humbuckers.

EMG Pickups on Select Finishes

While the EMG 81s are capable of a wide array of styles, they excel at high-gain, modern heavy metal. The increased output of the EMGs can push an amplifier's input gain into the red for scorching tone you've never heard before, while the active circuitry keeps everything whisper quiet when you're not playing. Get ready for tone that's dramatic, epic, and totally metal.

Stunning Looks

If you're playing metal, ESP knows you're not looking to fit in, and the LTD EC1000 guitars sport a look that's sure to catch any audience's eye. The guitar's body design is both classic and forward-thinking, with a single-cut profile, beveled carved top, and full neck and body binding.

For high-speed, high-gain, heavy metal guitar, you can't go wrong with an ESP LTD EC1000 Deluxe. As fast and as loud as you want to go, the EC1000 will keep pace, and it'll make you play, sound, and look 100% metal.

Sound:
I could write a novel about the sound of this guitar - no matter what model you have. So to put it extremley brief: the mahagony gives it a tight, warm, resonant base for the pickups to build on. The EMGs are 81 and 60 (bridge and neck, respectively) and are, shall I say, hellacious. The 81 rips out intense distortion for all you metalheads to play juicy squeals and harmonics - perfect for leads and tight/heavy riffs. The 60 is soft and smooth, great for legato playing or soulful soloing. For those who have the JB and the 59, let me just say this: Lamb of God's Willie Adler uses the exact same setup on his ESP guitar. Got it? I own the model with the EMGs, and for those that boo the clean sound, I'd like to disagree. Just put it on the neck pickup and it'll take off a lot of the bite. Dont feel like you have to pay high prices for a great sound - look no further than this guitar for any genre. A++
Feature:
Mine shipped with a manual, some crazy ESP stickers, and allen wrenches for adjusting the hardware, but I didn't need to adjust it one bit. This guitar has fabulous intonation because of the way it's designed - to start, it has a tonepros locking bridge (so the bridge will not move at all no matter what you do to it) and that makes the tuning a lot easier when changing strings. Then you move up to the headstock and find both a compensated nut and locking machine heads (which you don't have to unscrew or anything like that, they just lock the string in place so you dont have to wind it around the post and risk slippage)
Ease of Use:
Playability is outstanding. Like I said before, this thing can crank out some wild sh*t if you know how to play. The neck is also nicely shaped - not too thick that you cant play solos really fast, but also not so thin that you can't have a nice full grip on it.
Quality:
Made very well. There was absolutley nothing out of place or wrong with mine and the guitar itself makes for a very durable road guitar (just ask all the bands that use them). However, I advise against getting the Satin Black finish (Vintage Black I think they call it) if you're the type of person that is a total neatfreak about your guitar. Mine has the Satin finish and it is very prone to scratches / blemishes if you don't treat respectfully. If you don't want to worry about scratching or things like that and you still want EMGs, just go for the regular gloss black or the black cherry finish - they're a little more easy to keep clean.
Value:
Best. Price. Ever. Pretty much everywhere you look, this thing is selling for WAAAYY under what it should be. You're basically getting a Les Paul with better pickups and neck (that's easier on the shoulder too) for less money even than a studio guitar. Ridiculous value.
Manufacturer Support:
Though I've never personally delt with them, ESP is a company that caters to guitarist's every need to make them happy. After all, they specialize in custom guitars - why wouldn't they act the same with customers?
The Wow Factor:
Pretty much any variation of this guitar will make people crap themselves when they first see it.
Overall:
Overall, this is simply the best guitar out there for those who like a hot sound. Im not saying it doesnt also work for softer music, but it really strides in the high distortion area. The only reason I can think of why anyone shouldn't buy this guitar would be that they want to do whammy bar stuff. Anything else, and you've got it all here in an affordable, sexy, tight little package.

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"Too many features for this price!"

Sound:
This guitar is very versatile. You can play lots of styles with the guitar. I have the Amber color with the Seymour Duncan's. Plenty of vollume, plenty of tone control, very clear and warm.
Feature:
You cannot find another guitar with this quality and this many features for this price. It is amazing.
Ease of Use:
Umm, its a guitar, its easy to use.
Quality:
The quality of the guitar is absolutely the best feature. The workmanship is beautiful. If I didn't love it so much, I would take it out of its case and hang it on the wall as art. It is beautiful.
Value:
You get a set neck, Seymour Duncan's, abalone binding, abalone inlays, sperzel locking tuners, flamed maple top, etc for under $1000. And its not some cheap lame brand. It's good stuff. This guitar sold me on ESP.
Manufacturer Support:
No experience with support.
The Wow Factor:
Very Sexy.
Overall:
For me, I am a guitar collector, so I will probably continue to buy additional guitars but I expect this one to always be among my most favorites. My biggest complaint with this guitar, is that when friends come over to jam, I never get to play this guitar because everyone fights over it.

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